The influence of Fast food on life-span in Japan Research Paper

The influence of Fast food on life-span in Japan - Research Paper Example The above issues are analyzed in current paper; effort has been made in order to present the various aspects of the relationship between the long life span of Japanese and their eating behavior especially regarding their trend to avoid fast food. At the next level, the potential use of the specific eating behavior on the life-span of other populations worldwide is evaluated, aiming to answer the following question: would the avoidance of fast food – as an eating behavior adopted by Japanese – could help people worldwide to increase their life span – as this trend has contributed in the long life-span of Japanese? In order to understand the potential relationship between the avoidance of fast food and the long life span as observed in Japan, it would be necessary to present the common effects of fast food of health – as highlighted in the literature focusing on the specific subject. Then the trends of Japanese regarding fast food will be identified and evaluated showing the potential relationship of the specific eating behavior and the long life span. In this way, it will be possible to understand the potential value of the avoidance of fast food for health, a practice that could be suggested to people with different social and cultural characteristics who are likely to eat fast food, especially as a result of their style of life. The term ‘fast food’ is used in order to indicate food of the following characteristics: ‘a) either the food which can be prepared and served quickly or b) the food designed for ready availability, use or consumption’ (Merriam Webster, 2011). Fast food has a series of advantages, which is the reason for the expansion of this type of food in countries worldwide; at a first level, the access to the particular type of food is easy – referring to the fact that the number of restaurants providing the specific type of food is extremely high. Moreover, the cost of fast food is low, a significant advantage of this type of food; in fact, the low cost of fast food – compared to other types of food – is one of its key reasons for its popularity among people of low income – who cannot afford other types of food. Another advantage of fast food is the limited time required for its preparation; as the term itself declares, fast food can be prep ared quite quickly helping consumers to save time for their various activities. Despite its advantages, fast food has been proved to have a series of negative effects. In fact, the research over the health problems related to fast food has proved that the specific type of food can have severe health implications, leading to various health problems either in the short or the long term (Health Food Guide 2011). The most usual negative effect of fast food is the obesity; other damages that the fast food causes on health are the following ones: ‘heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension and even cancer’ (Health Food Guide 2011). Most commonly, the effects of fast food on health cannot be identified early; usually, it is after a severe problem of health, as a result of consuming fast food for a long period of time, that the dangers of the specific types of food are considered and evaluated. The specific issue can be identified in the article of Martindale (2011 ) where reference is made to the case of a ‘victim’ of fast food, a 56-year old woman who has suffered severe problems of health because of her eating practices – referring specifically to fast food. The particular woman has sued the most known fast food chains in her city – Wendy’s, McDonalds, Burger King and KFC – considering that the food served in these restaurants has been the cause for her health problems

Learning organisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Learning organisation - Essay Example Learning organization can be defined as, â€Å"A Learning Company is an organization that facilitates the learning of all its members and continuously transforms itself†Development of an organization into a learning organization is not an organic process Instead, such a development is facilitated by certain factors. With the growth of organization and structuring of the company, individuals tend to assume more strength and power and their rigidity subdues the organization’s capacity to learn as it grows. In such circumstances, solutions applied to counter problems are often ineffective. Organizations tend to downsize in an attempt to enlarge profits and remain competitive. With fewer staff members, load on individuals grows manifolds. In order to gain competitive advantage and to promote a culture that is customer responsive, it is imperative that companies learn faster than their parallels in the market. This requires maintenance of knowledge regarding new processes an d products and an understanding of the outside environment. That is why learning organization has been defined as, â€Å"a company that can respond to new information by altering the very â€Å"programming† by which information is processed and evaluated† (Malhotra, 1996). In order to accomplish this, employees assume a greater responsibility of both managing their own works and cooperating with one another to play part in the organization’s strategic processes meant for competitive advantage. This paper aims at discussing some of the key features of a learning organization.... According to the systems thinking, in order for an organization to gain the qualities a learning organization, all traits should be simultaneously apparent in it. In case an organization lacks any of the five characteristics, it will not be able to achieve its goal. However, some people are of the view that these traits can be acquired or developed one by one with time. For example, O’ Keeffe (2002) is of the view that these features can not all be acquired at once, and are instead, developed gradually to convert an organization into a learning organization. Shared vision: One of the key factors that provide an organization with an opportunity to gain competitive advantage is shared vision. Shared vision among the organizational personnel builds their common identity. This in turn, provides the workers with tremendous energy and inculcates motivation in them to gain learning. In this way, shared vision plays a cardinal role in promoting learning among the members of the staff. Individuals’ vision plays a big role in the development and promotion of shared vision. Thus, if the vision in a company is enforced by particular people who assume greater power over others, this may hinder the development of a shared organizational vision. This is the fundamental reason why most of the learning organizations prefer to adopt decentralized and flat organization structures. Personal mastery: Personal mastery is the name of an individual’s commitment to the organizational learning process (Senge, 1990). An organization whose personnel are quick learners acquires an edge over the competitors whose employees are not. There are various organization specific events and happenings that